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Movies / On DVD / Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School

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Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2006)

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Reviews Counted:59

Fresh:13

Rotten:46

Average Rating:4.7/10

Consensus: Clumsily staged and brimming with melodrama and trite self-help cliches, this dance movie stays stuck at amateur level.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for mature situations and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:25-08-2006

Synopsis: MARILYN HOTCHKISS' BALLROOM DANCING AND CHARM SCHOOL begins with a fated meeting, as Frank (Robert Carlyle) pulls over to aid a car-crash victim, Steve (John Goodman), who is slowly dying by the... MARILYN HOTCHKISS' BALLROOM DANCING AND CHARM SCHOOL begins with a fated meeting, as Frank (Robert Carlyle) pulls over to aid a car-crash victim, Steve (John Goodman), who is slowly dying by the side of the road. Frank is still coming to terms with his wife's suicide, so when Steve spins him a story about the dance school of the title, he decides to attend classes himself. Steve informs Frank that he was in love with a girl named Lisa (Camryn Manheim), who danced at the school when he was a 12-year-old boy. Now, some 40 years later, Frank was on his way to the school to meet her again, hoping to rekindle their flame. Director Randall Miller (CLASS ACT) neatly divides the story into three parts, providing flashbacks to flesh out Steve's story, showing Frank's desperate attempts--along with a paramedic team--to keep Steve alive, and illustrating what happens when Frank makes his way to the school. As the story pings back and forth, Frank arrives at the school intending to tell Lisa what happened to Steve, but fails to find her. What Frank does find, however, is Meredith (Marisa Tomei), a woman he hopes will fill in the aching gap left by the death of his wife. As Frank slowly falls in love with Meredith while continuing his search for Lisa, the film gently arcs through some sentimental material that should appeal to viewers who enjoy a good tearjerker. [More]

Starring: Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, Donnie Wahlberg

Starring: Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, Donnie Wahlberg, David Paymer, Danny De Vito, John Goodman, Camryn Manheim, Jody Savin

Director: Randall Miller

Director: Randall Miller
Producer: Eilleen Craft, Morris Rushkin
Composer: Mark Adler
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

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Reviews for Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
08/25/06
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/26/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Strong performances and moving themes are drowned in a sea of sentimentality.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
08/26/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

The movie is so bad it brings up a question %u2014 what's the opposite of a comeback film?

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
04/27/06
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

... slight and slurry, like a champagne buzz.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/02/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

As absorbingly weird and dark and sad as the film becomes, it still labors against jumpy construction, an irritating variety of visual styles and film stocks, and a crowded story.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
04/06/06
Tasha Robinson
Tasha Robinson
AV Club

It's been simultaneously overwritten and underdirected by Randall Miller, who has turned his sweet 16-year-old short film into a syrupy, long-faced drama.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
04/07/06
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

That the film was itself borne out of risk invests its message with an honesty and an authenticity more than sufficient to offset its flaws.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
08/26/06
Wade Major
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine

Think about this. You liked a schoolmate when you were 8, and for 40 years have focused on this reunion. Are you crazy?

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
04/06/06
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Too cute, too transparent, too precious and ultimately too much.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
04/06/06
Sid Smith
Sid Smith
Chicago Tribune

Yet another ballroom dancing movie presents dance as a universal balm that heals life's problems in this mildly inspired dramatic comedy.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/19/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Watchable enough, but many insufferable scenes particularly any with the presence of John Goodman and with the school's founding director.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
03/01/06
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The film moves like a newbie following a diagram of arrows and shoes and counting out loud.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
04/07/06
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post

Clunky romantic comedy, which has the annoying habit of turning dead serious at exactly the wrong moment.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/05/06
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School may stumble at times, but at least it gets out on the dance floor and has a good time.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
04/07/06
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

You've always suspected that going to dance class and charm school wouldn't be a lot of fun. Now a movie has come along that proclaims the truth: You were right all along.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/31/06
E! Online

Good performances, good actors. Kind of a terrible story.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
04/03/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

This is a wildly ill-conceived jumble, and not even its impressive cast can rescue it.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/03/06
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

About all that unifies the movie is its inclination to turn little people's dreams into limply 'affectionate' camp.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/05/06
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

Long on good intentions but short on believability.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
12/06/05
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
 
 
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